Hamilton Tiger-Cats head coach Orlondo Steinauer will be forgiven if he decides to leave the Canadian Football League schedule-makers off his Christmas card list.
With two games this week and just three days of rest separating them, the turnaround for the Ticats (4-7) is an extremely tight one as they get set to battle the Ottawa Redblacks (3-8) Friday night in the nation’s capital in what is a crucial game in the East Division playoff race.
You can listen to the game on CHML radio, starting with the pregame show at 6:30 p.m. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. Fans can catch The 5th Quarter postgame show 30 minutes after the final whistle.
“We knew it was on the schedule,” acknowledged Steinauer, who said they started preparing for the game against Ottawa even before Monday’s Labour Day loss against Toronto.
“We had a short turnaround traveling to Edmonton earlier in the year,” added Steinauer, whose club ended up beating the Elks after just four days rest.
“Every team has their version of what’s happening. For the players it’s two quick cheques. The schedule is the schedule.”
There is, however, a couple of notable factors that Hamilton is dealing with heading into Friday’s game that they weren’t facing when they beat Edmonton.
In advance of their victory at Commonwealth Stadium, the Ticats were coming off an emotional high after claiming their first win of the season the week before against Ottawa and backup quarterback Matthew Shiltz enjoyed a strong game in place of injured starter Bo Levi Mitchell.
It’s a much different story this week after the Cats lost what was an emotional game against Toronto on Labour Day, the marquee matchup on the CFL’s calendar, and the Redblacks are coming off an 11-day layoff after getting a bye last week.
Hamilton is also dealing with some off-field drama this week, courtesy of disgruntled receiver Duke Williams who said in a since-deleted tweet that he was leaving the city. Williams was placed on the six-game injured list Thursday with an ankle injury that he suffered against the Argonauts.
The Tiger-Cats have gotten the better of the Redblacks in their two meetings this season, winning 21-13 on July 8 and 16-12 on July 28, both times at Tim Hortons Field. In fact, the Cats have beaten Ottawa nine straight times dating back to the 2019 season.
Ottawa has lost their last five games and a sixth straight defeat would put a serious dent in their playoff hopes. The Redblacks have missed the playoffs in each of the last three seasons.